Unusual Baby Names: Hidden in plain sight
by Angela Mastrodonato of Upswing Baby Names
Once upon a time, most parents would have never imagined naming their children Arya, Iker or Major. Now these are some of the fastest rising baby names in the U.S. With formerly unusual names hitting the mainstream, some parents are left wondering where to find under-the-radar names.
The trick is to stop looking for unusual names. That’s right. Instead of resorting to increasingly offbeat choices, consider some names that are right under your nose.
There are many names that seem on-trend yet remain under-the-radar, and many are familiar. Here are some names that are uncommon (most are outside the U.S. Social Security Administration’s top 1000 baby names for 2012) but don’t seem all that unusual. Next to each name is the number of babies given the name last year.
Girls
Aida – 164
Calista – 195
Cassia – 45
Flora – 124
Lavinia – 52
Lucinda – 181
Marcella – 166
Oona – 39
Ramona – 197
Rhea – 224
Sally – 205
Soleil – 177
Susanna – 183 / Susannah – 104
Sybella – 11
Sylvie – 169
Vada – 157
Viola – 162
Boys
Clive – 65
Conan – 54
Ewan – 140
Fritz – 30
Gordon – 194
Guy – 138
Murray – 42
Niles – 44
Olin – 80
Orson – 31
Tobin – 138
Viggo – 29
Unisex
Arden – 221 girls / 76 boys
Darby – 117 girls / 39 boys
Kelby – 32 girls / 59 boys
Remy – 195 girls / 233 boys
Name trends can be inexplicable and unpredictable, otherwise most of these names would show up on more parents’ baby name lists.
Okay, so at first glance some of these names, like Viggo, may come across as eccentric. But when compared to other names on the rise, Viggo isn’t that eccentric. Consider that another Norwegian name, Soren, has recently crept into the top 1000 and seems to be trending upwards, and Viggo has the trendy o-suffix. When these things are considered, Viggo seems like it should have been given to more than 29 newborn boys last year.
Another name that may appear eccentric at first is Soleil. And maybe thirty years ago, when a young Soleil Moon Frye entertained children as Punky Brewster, the child star’s name, the French word for “sun,” was unfamiliar and difficult to say. Fast-forward to 2013, however, and celestial names like Luna and Stella are taking off, and thanks to the actress, the name is no longer unfamiliar.
And maybe Fritz, Murray, and Oona aren’t for everyone, but each has a quirky-vintage style popular with some contemporary parents. Yet each of these names were given to fewer than 50 babies in 2012.
Most of these names seem like they should have caught on by now. But they haven’t. This is good news for anyone seeking that elusive different but not too different name.
Angela created Upswing Baby Names to help parents find that different but not too different name. She muses about names on their way in and on their way out in her book, The Top 22 in 2022. She is also an avid runner, wannabe foodie, and devoted mom of two.